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Report an investment scam

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Report scams to Scamwatch to warn others and stop the scam.  

Report all scams to Scamwatch

Act fast if you suspect a scam

Report a scam

Scamwatch is run by the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC). It collects reports about all scam types from people across Australia. It uses these reports to spot new scams and warn the community. Scamwatch also shares reports with Australian and international law enforcement and other government organisations to help them investigate and prosecute scammers.

Your report could help stop someone else from losing money.

Report all scams, including investment scams, to Scamwatch.

Why report a scam?

Even if you haven’t lost money, reporting a scam helps:

Your report could help stop a family member, friend or fellow Australian from losing money.

Act fast if you've been scammed

If you’ve lost money or shared personal information, take these steps:

  1. Stop all contact with the scammer – Don’t send any more money. Block their phone number, email and social media accounts.
  2. Contact your bank or financial institution – Tell them what happened and ask them to stop any transactions if possible.
  3. Report the scam to Scamwatch – Reporting helps warn others and support efforts to disrupt scammers.
  4. Protect your personal information – Change your passwords and watch for suspicious emails, texts or phone calls.
  5. Get help if your identity may be at risk – Contact IDCARE on 1800 595 160 for free support and advice.
  6. Check your credit report – Get a free copy of your credit report to check for unauthorised activity. Consider a temporary freeze on your credit report to stop new credit applications.
  7. Watch out for follow-up scams – Be cautious of anyone promising to get your money back for a fee.

For more help, see what to do if you’ve been scammed and identity theft.

Tell others if you suspect a scam

You can also help protect others from the scam.

What is an investment scam?

An investment scam deceives victims into putting money into a fake investment. The investment is not real and the scammer steals the money.

Investment scams can take many forms. For example:

According to the National Anti-Scam Centre, Australians lost more than $837 million to investment scams in 2025. 

Some scammers now use AI to make scams look more real. See our example of an AI investment scam journey to discover warning signs to look for.

Find out more about how to stay alert to investment scams.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is super-charging online scam threats. In the 2025/26 financial year, ASIC coordinated the removal of 19,400 online scams - up 182% on the previous year - including fake websites, social media ads, phishing scams and cryptocurrency investment scams.

Someone pretending to be ASIC?

Some scammers pretend to be ASIC, ASIC Connect or Moneysmart. They may create fake websites, send emails or text messages, or contact you by phone. ASIC warns that scammers sometimes use fake websites and communications that look very similar to genuine ASIC services. If you find a website, email, text message or phone call that pretends to be from ASIC, report it to ASIC.

The ASIC website has more information on scams impersonating ASIC.  

Not sure if it's a scam?

Sometimes conduct may not be a scam. It may involve a real business or person doing the wrong thing when providing financial services.

Some examples include:

If your report is about financial sector misconduct, other than scams, you can report this to ASIC.

 

 

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